Template files: asset or anathema? A qualitative analysis of the subtitles of The Sopranos

摘要

The introduction of template subtitling files (lists of time-cued intralingual subtitles to be used by all translators working in the same project) has played a pivotal role in streamlining the process of subtitling. Praised by representatives of the industry, template files have been anathema to many translators, who have voiced quality concerns on various occasions. This article proposes to carry out a qualitative analysis of the impact of using template files on interlingual subtitles. The article examines the French, Greek and Spanish subtitles of two episodes of the TV series The Sopranos, which were translated based on template files. A brief analysis of the dialogue of The Sopranos is followed by an examination of the main translational choices leading to the creation of template files, with special emphasis on text reduction, time-cueing, narrative consistency and intertextuality. The main section of the article examines the translated subtitles and finds that these choices have been reproduced by the translators, despite the fact that they were under no constraint to do so. In the concluding section, the article suggests ways for re-imagining the role of template files, with a view to optimising the role they play in interlingual subtitling.